With an increase in demand and price of oil, there is a continuing need for more efficient energy sources. Fossil-fuel-based systems alone are highly inefficient and unnecessarily pollute the air at dangerous levels. It is critical for the world to move toward cleaner and more efficient use of fossil fuels. Originally, HoD systems were rare and hydrogen gas presented safety issues because of its storage. This made using HoD generators impractical to use. Over time, technology has proven helpful in determining more efficient ways to generate and store hydrogen. However, the flammability of hydrogen in storage still poses a major safety risk. If a system is truly one that is HoD, then there would be no need for storage of gases and safety risks would be reduced. The problem has partially been solved by products with safety features that protect against such failure modes. However, the results of those systems are questionable because they lack consistency, the results are skewed, they are not cost-effective, and they lack environmental friendliness.
Another main problem associated with HoD generation through electrolysis is longevity of components because of corrosion. The material used to facilitate electrolysis in HoD generators should be highly corrosion-resistant. Corrosion is inevitable because electrolysis naturally favors it.
I have found numerous problems in current products on the market. I have found that the products fail to deliver consistent results; they use traditional means of wet-cell electrolysis instead of mostly dry-cell methods, and are not cost-effective when implemented. Maintenance costs for replacing material, in conjunction with use of traditional electrolyte solutions, create cost-prohibitive HoD generators that defeat the purpose of implementation in the first place.
Moreover, some currently-available products are less efficient because the variables their flow depends on change continuously. This defeats the purpose of making the fossil-fuel-powered source more efficient because the constant fluctuations cause those HoD generators to expend more energy to match hydrogen gas output on a continuous basis. Many products also include parts that are not essential, thereby making the product unnecessarily complex and costly.
Specifically, the shortcomings of the prior art include one or more of the following: (1) Parallel conductive material must be oriented in a specific direction to be effective; (2) Electrolyte solution is highly corrosive; (3) Lacks a variable controller for voltage and output adjustment; (4) Pump circulates electrolyte solution conventionally; (5) Separate cleansing mode is required; (6) Generator unit is difficult to replace and non-disposable; (7) Two-solenoid, wet-cell design in which all conductive material edges are exposed to electrolyte solution; (8) Pump is a screw-type element made of silicon bronze; (9) Generator housing serves as a container for electrolyte solution; (10) Plurality of conductive material members are spot-welded together with plastic pins and spacers; (11) Additional assembly is required to direct hydrogen and oxygen off conductive material members; (12) Uses a straight or curved tubular heating element as opposed to the absence of a heater; (13) Electronic control module is used to vary the output; (14) Generator module does not automatically drain into reservoir; (15) Separate micron filter is used instead of an integrated filter; (16) Functions within 0-50 Ampere range; (17) Pumps water intermittently instead of continuously; (18) Pulse-width modulator used to control power to the generator; (19) Freezing temperatures require drainage of electrolyte solution; (20) No integrated cooling system is used; (21) Orifice injects directly into engine; (22) Cycles on and off based on pressure sensors; and (23) Are not practical for traditional and modern fossil-fuel-powered system integration.
It would be advantageous to provide a replaceable cartridge-based, HoD generator system that is easy to install and is compatible with older and newer vehicles.
It would be advantageous to provide a HoD generator cartridge with parallel conductive material members that may be placed in any orientation.
It would be advantageous to reduce engine damage and increase overall engine efficiency by using a reservoir that includes a baffle to reduce sloshing which, in turn, will avoid electrolyte solution from getting into the engine intake.
It would be advantageous to provide consistent results and savings by using a fixed-output and step-down voltage controller, connected to a microprocessor with a direct current (“DC-to-DC”) converter.
It would be advantageous to provide a method for circulating electrolyte through a cartridge HoD generator to make the system more efficient and durable.
It would be advantageous to provide a continuously-filtered electrolyte solution to save time, effort, and cost by avoiding a separate cleansing element.
It would be advantageous to provide a disposable and replaceable cartridge generator unit, which is more cost-effective and more convenient than periodically installing a new generator unit.
It would be advantageous to provide at least one dry cell that is more resistant to heat and premature corrosion than typical HoD systems.
It would be advantageous to provide a pump that is a sealed, magnetically-driven element which isolates the electrolyte solution from the motor assembly.
It would be advantageous to provide a generator housing that serves as a compact, disposable conduit.
It would be advantageous to provide a plurality of conductive material members in an isolated enclosure.
It would be advantageous to provide a thermistor from a microprocessor-based, DC-to-DC converter attached to a radiator coil to regulate DC output to the HoD generator.
It would be advantageous to provide a steady-state output using a microprocessor-based, DC-to-DC converter for consistent results and energy savings.
It would be advantageous to provide a valve drain, including a gravity-feed system that drains into a reservoir automatically as a safety feature when a pump fails or when a generator system is off.
It would be advantageous to provide a HoD system that naturally traps hydrogen gas and stops current flow between conductive material members when a pump fails or stops.
It would be advantageous to provide an integrated, durable filter.
It would be advantageous to provide a relatively low, steady DC voltage with a limited current flow to attain consistent results and a safer operating environment.
It would be advantageous to provide a HoD cartridge generator that reduces fuel consumption and reduces harmful exhaust emissions.
It would be advantageous to provide an external electrolyte solution reservoir with a higher capacity-to-mileage ratio.
It would be advantageous to provide a cooling system to maintain proper operating temperature.
It would be advantageous to provide an additive to a generator system in freezing weather to avoid drainage and damage to a HoD system.
It would be advantageous to provide a modularized reservoir for storage of electrolyte solution.
It would be advantageous to provide accommodating orientation of a HoD cartridge generator.
It would be advantageous to provide a polarity-switching device for staggered conductive material members within a HoD cartridge generator.
Thus, some advantages of one or more aspects are that a cartridge-based, HoD system is more cost-effective and more energy efficient. Other advantages of one or more aspects are that a HoD cartridge generator system is easy to install. These and other advantages of one or more aspects will become apparent from a consideration of the ensuing description and accompanying drawings.